Wednesday, August 14, 2013

What's Up with That Hedgehog??

Much to our dismay, the pig of the sea is not with us in the United States. We considered bringing Sid Vicious but eventually decided that it would be too risky to try to cross back and forth over the border with our well-traveled pet. We weren't sure if he would be quarantined or even let back in to Mexico, which would create a giant problem for us in the airport. However, this left us in the position of trying to find a hedgehog sitter for three months in Mexico.

As with anywhere, you have to be careful about just with whom you leave your pet, and in Mexico there's generally a different attitude about pet ownership. I realize that this is a big cultural generalization here, otherwise known as a stereotype, but we were cautioned by both Mexicans and Americans to be careful about leaving the hedgehog with just anyone because Sid might not receive the best treatment. I'm not saying that the folks in Mexico don't care about their animals, but it can be a different attitude.

So the hunt began. For about two weeks, Vlad asked everyone he came across - from people on the docks to the kid in the gas station - if they knew anyone who would be interested in watching a low maintenance pet for a bit, and finally we found the best person ever! He's 12 years old, the son of the local sailmaker in La Cruz and a major animal lover. Pretty much a perfect fit for our rather odd and spiky crew member.

Even though we are currently missing our little critter something fierce - he would be a perfect cuddle companion right now - we are glad that he's in good hands.

I didn't know you had a hedgehog! Too cool. Clearly I need to read more back posts. We had a similar challenge finding a cat sitter in Mexico. Luckily a local family that owns a grilled chicken shack agreed to check in on our little guy every other day. How much TLC do hedgehogs need?